SAN ANTONIO — Artistic titan Jesse Treviño left a visual imprint on society that’s been recognized not just in the Alamo City but in the halls of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
“He was among the generation of artists who really fought for the visibility and representation of Chicano art and artists and Chicano history on a wider stage,” said Melissa Ho, SAAM’s curator of 20th Century Art.
The Mexican-born painter died at age 76 after battling throat cancer, according to his nephew who announced the news on Monday.
Treviño’s paintings have captured decades of San Antonio history and personal experiences seen through the eyes of a Vietnam veteran who returned from the battlefield scarred but not defeated.
He learned how to paint with his left arm.
Since the 1990s, Treviño’s works have been featured at the Smithsonian, including one called “Mi Vida” in 2019, which was a part of an exhibit titled “Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975.”
“I feel so lucky that he came out for the opening and it was quite remarkable to have him here standing in front of that painting that once had been his bedroom wall and giving remarks at the opening of the show,” Ho said.
Pete Cortez, owner of La Familia Cortez Restaurants, reflects on Treviño as a local pioneer of expressing civic-minded actions through his paint brush. Cortez recognizes Treviño’s legacy will forever live on.
“He was a very dear friend of our family in particular to my dad Jorge. My dad was a businessperson running restaurants here in San Antonio but he was very close to Jesse. They considered themselves almost like brothers,” Cortez said. “Jesse’s impact to our city will live on for many, many decades and centuries beyond all of us.”
To learn more about Jesse Treviño, go here.